The Engine Behind Creativity
What if you could 鈥渉ear鈥� color? What if you could blend the speed and functionality of quantum computing with the beauty and lyricism of poetry? What if your 3D printer could create an intricately designed, and equally delicious, dessert for you to enjoy?
These are only a few examples of the types of questions that Stephanie and Isaac Budmen encourage through their work at Le Moyne鈥檚 Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity. Isaac serves as the Center鈥檚 designer of educational programming and mentorship, while Stephanie serves as designer of education content and programming. As they launch the Center鈥檚 project-based learning initiative, the Budmens work with students, faculty and the Greater Syracuse community to instill a philosophy of creative discovery. This process, they stress, begins by nurturing something that we all innately have: curiosity.
鈥淓veryone has curiosity, and curiosity tends to be the engine behind creativity,鈥� says Isaac. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that, 鈥榃hat if?,鈥� that we label as creative. Curiosity is a much easier on-ramp for everybody because everyone has questions. Everyone has something they鈥檙e curious about.鈥�
This philosophy was on full display this spring at the second-annual Syracuse Maker Faire, which the Keenan Center hosted. The Budmens worked with a group of ERIE21 students, who built a theme park that then debuted at the Faire. The students chose the theme and designed the attractions based on their own interests and desires. This student-guided approach led to some remarkable projects, such as a tour of the solar system complete with videos introducing each planet. It also led to some deeper shifts in learning. For example, one young female student hesitantly asked Stephanie if she could build something.
鈥淚 turned to her and I said, 鈥楢bsolutely. You can do this,鈥欌�� Stephanie recalls. 鈥淗er entire body language changed, her entire demeanor changed, and in a split second, this young lady went from very shy to totally confident. By the end of the program, she was leading a whole group of young ladies.鈥�
The transformative power of project-based learning is central to the Keenan Center鈥檚 鈥渂uild it鈥� mentality. It is also something that the Budmens live and breathe in their own lives. Today they co-manage Budmen Industries, selling custom-made 3D printers and their own 鈥渋mpossible projects,鈥� and their road to this professional life is full of learning and creative discovery.
As an undergraduate, Stephanie studied photography and art history; post-college, she became a wedding photographer and moved to Chicago. On the side, she began working in restaurants and discovered a love of baking, eventually becoming the top pastry chef at a Michelin-star restaurant.
聽鈥淚 thought, 鈥極h wow, I can elaborate on this toolbelt I have,鈥欌�� says Stephanie. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to stay in one silo. I can explore these different avenues.鈥�
Isaac, too, has a similar story. As a policy major in college, he started taking courses his senior year on different subjects that had always interested him, such as software and entrepreneurship. Then, after graduation, he and two of his college roommates formed an interactive design group that designed and sold a wide range of 鈥渃razy projects,鈥� such as a gumball machine that would dispense gumballs if a person checked in to Google on their phone. After receiving a contract for a small 3D printer, Isaac became hooked, learning everything he could about the relatively new technology and eventually writing a book about 3D printing. From there, he was invited to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to be a part of the media lab team in the digital fellows program, where he continued to work extensively with 3D printing.聽At the same time, he and Stephanie, who had met years earlier, had reconnected. Together, they filed their first patent for a large 3D printer.
Their journeys and mindsets embody the Keenan Center鈥檚 four pillars of innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and intrapreneurship. In other words, it is the combination of their unique business acumen and their inventive approach that makes them a natural fit for the Center. At Budmen Industries, they鈥檝e created everything from medical equipment to 3D printed desserts to a sculpture of Neil Harbisson, the world鈥檚 first cyborg, that allows the viewer to 鈥渉ear鈥� color.
Their vision for the Keenan Center鈥檚 future is no less imaginative or ambitious. From instructing an upcoming stop motion summer camp to organizing poetry readings and open mic nights, the Budmens hope to emphasize creative exploration of intersections. What happens when you combine art and technology, for example? What about light and sound? Humanities and science?
鈥淲e want to let the community and the campus know that this is a place where you can ask those questions,鈥� says Isaac. 鈥淏ecause that鈥檚 what we found. We came in a year ago when there was the grand opening, and there was this incredibly receptive group of people who are willing to put resources and time into asking questions, and they鈥檙e not expecting that there鈥檚 a definitive answer at the end of it. Having the opportunity to do that is enormous.鈥�
鈥淎nd we not only open our doors to the people on Le Moyne鈥檚 campus, but also to the community at large,鈥� adds Stephanie. 鈥淲e鈥檙e saying that here is a space where you can make and create and ask those questions. Let鈥檚 all discover together.鈥�
